Migration,International Telecommunications,and Human Rights1

World polity embeddedness has traditionally been measured by state and civil participation in formal venues, including international organizations, multilateral agreements, and world conferences. In this study, we highlight an alternative form of embeddedness found in cross‐national social relations and apply this framework to the human rights sector of the world polity. Specifically, we propose that the international migrant community diffuses human rights values and practices via (1) local performance and (2) cross‐national communication. Using data from the World Values Survey, we first show that immigrants are more likely to embrace, and actively participate in, the human rights movement. Next, using network data that report country‐to‐country bilateral flows, we observe a high degree of correspondence between international migration and telecommunications, confirming previous studies that trace telephone traffic to the flow of people. Finally, analyzing a balanced data set of 333 observations across 111 countries spanning the 1975–2000 period, we use ordered probit regression to assess the local and cross‐national effects of migrants on a state’s human rights record. We find that a country’s immigration level and its in‐degree centrality in international telecommunications both positively affect its Amnesty International rating, and that these effects are robust to a number of alternative specifications.     

The ties that bind: the role of migrants in the uneven geography of international telephone traffic

Recent work suggests that migrants have been a major driving force in the dramatic growth of international telephony over recent decades, accounting for large rises in telephone calls between countries with strong immigrant/emigrant connections. Yet, the existing literature has done a poor job of evaluating the substantive importance of migrants in explaining large disparities in levels of bilateral voice traffic observed between different countries. It has also failed to go very far in examining how domestic and relational factors moderate (namely amplify or attenuate) the influence of migrant stocks on international calling. Our contribution addresses these gaps in the literature. For a sample, which includes a far larger number of countries than previous studies, we show that, together with shorter‐term visitors, bilateral migrant stocks emerge as the relational variable with one of the substantively largest influences over cross‐national patterns of telephone calls. We also find that the effect of bilateral migrant stocks on inter‐country telephone traffic is greater where the country pairs are richer and more spatially distant from one another.     

高职商务英语专业工学结合教师队伍建设的实证研究

工学结合是高职教育改革的重要方向和加快高职教育发展的根本出路,培养实用型国际商务人才的商务英语专业需要依托工学结合来创新发展。通过问卷调查和深度访谈,以实证为基础,课题组对高职商务英语专业工学结合中的教师现状进行深入研究和分析,指出存在的问题,并提出相关对策,以期为后期更为系统和深入的研究、为助推商务英语专业工学结合提供实证数据。     

Rural Telephone Company Adoption of Service Innovations: A Community Field Theory Approach*

Abstract Recent telecommunications innovations have the potential to improve the economic vitality of rural communities, but many rural telephone companies have not adopted them to provide needed advanced services. To explain the differences in adoption by rural telephone companies we distinguish between service innovations, adopted primarily to improve direct services to clients, and operations innovations, adopted primarily to improve the operation of the business. Using community interaction field theory we develop and test a conceptual framework for the adoption of innovative service telecommunications technologies by Iowa rural telephone companies. As field theory predicts, involvement in local economic development activities has a strong, direct effect on innovativeness. Results suggest that the service and operations innovations distinction has theoretical utility in explaining organizational innovativeness.     

The Influence of Advance Letters on Response in Telephone Surveys: A Meta-Analysis

Recently, the leading position of telephone surveys as the majormode of data collection has been challenged. Telephone surveyssuffer from a growing nonresponse, partly due to the generalnonresponse trend for all surveys and partly due to changesin society and technology influencing contactability and willingnessto answer. One way to counteract the increasing nonresponseis the use of an advance letter. In mail and face-to-face surveys,advance letters have been proven effective. Based on the proveneffectiveness in face-to-face and mail surveys, survey handbooksadvise the use of advance letters in telephone surveys. Thisstudy reviews the evidence for this advice and presents a quantitativesummary of empirical studies on the effectiveness of advanceletters in raising the response rate for telephone surveys.The major conclusion is that advance letters are also an effectivetool in telephone surveys, with an average increase in responserate (RR1) from 58 percent (no letter) to 66 percent (advanceletter), and an average increase in cooperation rate (COOP1)from 64 percent (no letter) to 75 percent (advance letter).     

Climbing out of an economic crisis: A cycle of consumer sentiment and personal stress

This research examines bidirectional relationships between consumer sentiment and personal stress. It seeks to answer the question whether reduced consumer sentiment (consumer perceptions about the global, national and personal economic situation) raises personal stress levels, and whether increased personal stress levels depresses consumer sentiment. Finding such relationships would reveal a pathway from economic to personal well-being, as reflected in personal stress, and the other way around. A large longitudinal study in the Netherlands with a total of eight waves across three years (2012–2014), 4 waves during and 4 waves after the recent worldwide economic crisis, finds on average low personal stress levels among consumers, which is reassuring. Also and as expected, consumers are more positive about the state of the economy after than during the crisis. Importantly, more positive consumer sentiment indeed contributes to lower levels of personal stress. Moreover, the more personal stress consumers experience, the more pessimistic they are about the state of the economy after the crisis, whereas this connection is weaker during the crisis. This sheds new light on the pathways between consumer sentiment about the economy and their personal well-being.     

Reaching the U.S. Cell Phone Generation: Comparison of Cell Phone Survey Results with an Ongoing Landline Telephone Survey

Noncoverage rates in U.S. landline-based telephone samples dueto cell phone only households (i.e., households with no landlinebut accessible by cell phone) and the corresponding potentialfor bias in estimates from surveys that sample only from landlineframes are growing issues. Building on some of the few publishedstudies that focus on this problem, a study was conducted inthree states (Georgia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania) as partof the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), theworld's largest ongoing public health telephone survey, to evaluatethe effectiveness of conducting the BRFSS interview with a sampledrawn from dedicated cell phone telephone exchanges and mixed-use(landline and cell phone) exchanges. Approximately 600 interviewswere conducted in each of two groups: cell phone only adults(n = 572) and adults with both a landline and a cell phone (n= 592). Making comparisons with data from the ongoing, landline-basedBRFSS survey, we report on response rates, demographic characteristicsof respondents, key survey estimates of health conditions andrisk behaviors, and survey costs. The methods used in this studyhave wide application for other U.S. telephone surveys.     

The impact of touch-tone data entry on reports of HIV and STD risk behaviors in telephone interviews

Respondents concerns about privacy can decrease reporting of HIV and STD risk behaviors in general population telephone surveys. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of an experimental study evaluating whether one method for increasing privacy, touch-tone data entry (TTDE), is effective in increasing estimates of sexual behaviors from a population-based survey. We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults in New Jersey (n = 405), with half the respondents using TTDE for answering sexual behavior questions. TTDE led to increased reports of same-sex sexual behavior, certain HIV and STD risk factors, and concern about one s risk for HIV and STD transmission. TTDE also narrowed the difference between men s and women s reports of the number of different sexual partners over the past 10 years. The feasibility and limitations of TTDE are discussed, as well as possible alternative interpretations that consider the impact of TTDE on the dynamics of the interaction between the respondent and the interviewer.     

Presentation matters: how mode effects in item non-response depend on the presentation of response options

Comparability of data across modes is an important issue in survey research. In this paper we discuss item non-response to attitudinal questions in telephone and web surveys. We present results from a survey experiment conducted in Italy and in Spain that compares different presentations of response options in an online setting with a benchmark telephone survey. In line with earlier studies we find that (A), the share of non substantial answers in the online survey depends on how the response option is presented. Comparing different presentations in an online survey to the standard approach of telephone surveys using propensity score matching, we find that (B), the share and pattern of non substantial answers, is most similar across the two modes in the online survey when the it is captured in an instruction on each screen for the online survey. Our findings are of particular relevance for the design of multiple mode or mix-mode surveys of attitudinal questions using online and telephone modes.     

CONSUMPTION,SENTIMENT, AND ECONOMIC NEWS

This paper investigates the influence of economic news on consumer sentiment, and examines whether “news shocks”—changes in coverage that would not be expected from incoming data on economic fundamentals—have aggregate effects. Using monthly U.S. data and a structural vector autoregression, I find that (1) sentiment is affected by news shocks; (2) after filtering out effects of news shocks, shocks to sentiment still have positive effects on consumer spending; and (3) news shocks influence both spending and unemployment in significant, though transitory ways. These results are consistent with other evidence of a role of nonfundamental factors in aggregate fluctuations. (JEL E21, E32, D12)     

Monitoring antitobacco sentiment among community leaders

Two public health objectives, one methodological and the other substantive, are realized in the present study. First, average survey ratings are replaced by negated mean cumulative logits (MCLs), which have the advantage of interitem commensuration. Second, these negated MCLs improve the analysis of two Florida tobacco control surveys of community leaders. Because of their common logit metric, negated MCLs for different item types are compared on their expressed antitobacco sentiment. They are also averaged to construct a precise indicator of overall sentiment. These results show that in 1998 and 1999, community leaders were most averse to selling to minors, kids buying cigarettes, and restaurant and workplace smoking. The latter aversion anticipated voters' overwhelming support of the 2002 Florida constitutional amendment prohibiting smoking in restaurants and workplaces. The authors hope that this analysis for antitobacco programs will improve other substance-abuse monitoring with surveys whose items are yet unwritten.     

Purchase expectations and the demand for consumer durables

This article reviews the use of buying intentions anil purchase expectations data in consumer surveys and forecasts of the likely level of consumer demand. It notes the decline in their use and the disappointing experience where attempts have been made to use such information in time series forecasts. The stronger cross-sectional predictive performance is discussed and it is argued that this is of relevance to researchers and forecasters. Suggestions are made as to ways in which purchase expectations data might he more effectively collected and used in future.     

Community Size,Individual Social Position,and Community Attachment1

Abstract The objective of this investigation is to elaborate and test the linear development and systemic models of community attachment. We focus on the interplay of community size, five social position variables, and three dimensions of community attachment, namely, involvement, amity, and sentiment. Data are obtained from a statewide migration telephone survey of 851 respondents aged 18 and over, conducted in Utah in October 1988. We focus on a weighted subsample of 415 nonmetropolitan respondents. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) techniques are employed. Contrary to the linear development model, community size did not have an independent inverse impact on community involvement, amity, and sentiment. Results do vary by social position and community attachment dimensions.     

Cheap Calls: The Social Glue of Migrant Transnationalism

Abstract Although globalization has usually been associated with advanced communications technology, arguably nothing has facilitated global linkage more than the boom in ordinary, cheap international telephone calls. Low‐cost calls serve as a kind of social glue connecting small‐scale social formations across the globe. In this article I present recent data on the rapid growth and diffusion of telephone traffic and describe the proliferation of prepaid phonecards. Second, I outline the commercial, social and geographical ramifications of this explosion in transnational communication.     

A study of the consumption of Chinese online fortune telling services

This study examines consumer behavior in the online fortune telling market. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed through a content analysis of websites, in-depth interviews with website owners, and online consumer surveys. Focus group discussions were conducted to uncover a general profile of and the motives for users who visited fortune telling websites in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. In addition, a survey of 6,088 members of major fortune telling websites was conducted in order to identify a dynamic psychological model to explain online fortune telling behavior and attitudes. Three types of explanatory variables were used as predictors – demographics, psychological orientations, and motivations. Results from the analyses indicate that the majority of users were attracted to the fortune telling websites by free trial services. Personal relationship fortunes were the most popular service item consumed by both male and female users. Some consistent patterns regarding the effects of the predictor variables on online fortune telling behavior and attitudes were reported and discussed. The three types of predictors in question all contributed to different online fortune telling behavior and attitudes. Results and implications are reported and discussed.     

Nonresponse Bias in a Dual Frame Sample of Cell and Landline Numbers

We conducted a dual frame survey of landline and cell phonenumbers in 2004 to evaluate the feasibility of including cellphone numbers in random digit dial telephone surveys in theUnited States. By sampling cell phone numbers, the coveragebias associated with households that have only cell phones iseliminated. However, we discovered two major sources of nonresponsebias in the dual frame sample. In an attempt to reduce thesebiases, we applied several different estimation schemes. Buta comparison to the 2004 Current Population Survey Cell PhoneSupplement showed that none of the estimation schemes substantiallyreduced the nonresponse bias of the estimates. We suggest othermethods that might be used in future surveys that include cellphones and discuss the need for additional data collection andresearch on this issue.     

Public relations telephone surveys: Avoiding methodological debacles

Public relations practitioners rely on staff-produced telephone surveys for a variety of research projects. This study reports on one such project that revealed a serious methodological flaw in interviewer bias. Most surveys, using standard detection procedures, would not find the defect. Yet the outcomes were so misleading that any campaign using the results would be doomed. This study sounds an alarm for practitioner telephone surveys and suggests special precautions if in-house staff serve as interviewers.     

A note on the measurement,quantification, and use of consumer confidence

It is argued that consumer spending on durable items is not necessarily the only type of consumer spending to be influenced by consumer confidence but. given a certain degree of affluence. spending on non-durables can also be influenced by it.Different methods of quantification of consumer confidence are touched upon and the issue of equal weighting versus differential weighting, where weights are ascertained by the use of factor analysis, is discussed in more detail. Various indices of consumer confidence are computed and tested by means of regression analyses. It was found that it is immaterial whether a composite measure of confidence is based on factor analysis or simply on the summing and averaging of responses.The results of the regression analyses suggest that the hypothesis that consumer sentiment partly determines movements in private consumption expenditure holds true, especially in the case of durables. There are indications, however, that spending on non-durable goods might also be influenced by consumer sentiment.     

The impact of touch‐tone data entry on reports of HIV and STD risk behaviors in telephone interviews

Respondents’ concerns about privacy can decrease reporting of HIV and STD risk behaviors in general population telephone surveys. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of an experimental study evaluating whether one method for increasing privacy, touch‐tone data entry (TTDE), is effective in increasing estimates of sexual behaviors from a population‐based survey. We conducted a random‐digit‐dial telephone survey of adults in New Jersey (n = 405), with half the respondents using TTDE for answering sexual behavior questions. TTDE led to increased reports of same‐sex sexual behavior, certain HIV and STD risk factors, and concern about one's risk for HIV and STD transmission. TTDE also narrowed the difference between men's and women's reports of the number of different sexual partners over the past 10 years. The feasibility and limitations of TTDE are discussed, along with possible alternative interpretations that consider the impact of TTDE on the dynamics of the interaction between the respondent and the interviewer.     

Evaluating the impact of a healthy corner store initiative on food access domains

Healthy Corner Store Initiatives (HCSIs) are one food access strategy that aims to improve food environments by supporting local food stores in expanding their healthy offerings. This study presents the evaluation results from one such HCSI. Fresh Foods Here evaluated its network of eight stores in Columbus, Ohio between November 2013 and August 2014. Data from invoices, inventories, rapid market assessments, and customers surveys were analyzed for evidence of impact on the service delivery and personal domains of food access. For some indicators, initial gains were concentrated between pre- and interim evaluation periods, followed by either a leveling off or decline between interim and post. However, overall results were promising, with increases noted in the number of healthy items ordered by store owners, in daily foot traffic and transactions, and in consumer confidence for certain healthy behaviors. Lessons learned concerning the operation and evaluation of HCSIs are shared.